This invention relates to a control element arrangement for controlling the longitudinal and/or the lateral movement of a motor vehicle.
Conventionally, in an automobile, the steering wheel is used as the control element for controlling the lateral movement, and the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal are used as the control elements for controlling the longitudinal movement. It is known to use, instead of the steering wheel, a control lever which may be arranged, for example, on the transmission tunnel of the vehicle, as described in the article by P. Brxc3xa4nneby, et al., xe2x80x9cImproved Active and Passive Safety by Using Active Lateral Dynamic Control and an Unconventional Steering Unitxe2x80x9d, 13th International Technical Conference on Experimental Safety Vehicles, Nov. 4 to 7, 1991, Proceedings, Vol. 1, Page 224.
Furthermore, it is known to provide a common control element for controlling the longitudinal and lateral dynamics of a motor vehicle, in which case, in an associative assignment of the operating function, preferably the longitudinal movement is controlled by an operating of the control element in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and the lateral movement is controlled by an operating of the same in the lateral direction or analogously to the conventional steering wheel in a rotating direction. Such a control element is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,022,850 in the form of a control stick which is swivellable about a horizontal transverse axis disposed on a frame, in which case the frame, in turn, can be rotated about a horizontal longitudinal axis. Another control element of this type which is mentioned in the article by H. Bugg, xe2x80x9cJob Sitexe2x80x94Driver, An Ergonomic Studyxe2x80x9d, Automobil-Industrie 3/85, Page 265, contains two plate-type handles which are mechanically connected with one another and are mounted on the end of a bow which is movably guided on the center console of the vehicle. By displacing the bow by way of the control element, the longitudinal dynamics are controlled, the displacement toward the front signifying a speed increase and the displacement toward the rear signifying a speed reduction. The lateral dynamics are influenced by the rotation of the two mechanically coupled, plate-type handles.
The invention is based on the technical problem of providing a control element arrangement of the initially mentioned type with a particularly high control comfort and a high operational reliability.
This problem is solved by means of a control element arrangement for controlling the longitudinal and/or the lateral movement of a motor vehicle, comprising two control elements which can be operated independently of one another, at least longitudinal movement or a steering angle of the motor vehicle being optionally controllable by operating one or the other control element. In this case, two control elements which can be operated independently of one another are provided such that of the two driving-dynamic componentsxe2x80x94longitudinal movement and lateral movementxe2x80x94at least one can optionally be controlled by operating one or the other control element. On the one hand, this provides a redundancy with respect to the control of the longitudinal and/or lateral dynamics of the vehicle which increases the operational reliability of the system. On the other hand, in the case of manually operated control elements, it is possible, while increasing the control comfort, to arrange the control elements such that one can be operated by one hand and the other can be operated by the other hand.
In the case of a further development of the invention wherein one control element is arranged on a transmission tunnel and the other control element is arranged or an interior side of a driver""s door of an automobile, the driver can control the automobile with respect to the longitudinal and/or lateral movement very comfortably by way of each of the two control elements which are each situated in the immediate reach of the driver""s left or right hand.
A further development of the invention provides for a third control element on an interior side of a front passenger""s door of the automobile which can be operated independently of the two other control elements and whose operating functionality with respect to the control of the longitudinal and/or lateral movement of the automobile corresponds to that of the two other control elements. This development offers a cockpit concept in that, as the result of the additional third control element, it becomes possible also for the vehicle occupant sitting in the front passenger seat to control the automobile optionally with the left or the right hand on the respective control element with respect to the longitudinal and/or lateral movement.
A further development of the invention provides that at least one of the control elements is designed as a manually operable control stick and is carried by a console into which an armrest and/or an air bag is integrated. This arrangement provides the integration of an arm rest and/or of an air bag into a console by which at least one of the control elements is carried for controlling the longitudinal and/or the lateral movement of the vehicle.
A further development of the invention provides an arrangement wherein two of the control elements are designed as manually operable control sticks and are carried by the console and the console is mounted in the forward interior space area of an automobile in a longitudinally, laterally and/or vertically adjustable manner. This arrangement provides that the console can be arranged approximately in the area of an automobile in which conventionally the steering wheel is situated, in which case, by means of the left and the right hand, the user can hold the two control sticks carried by the console for controlling the longitudinal and/or lateral movement. A further development provides that the console is displaceable or swivellable between a driver""s seat control position and a front passenger""s seat control position. This permits a cockpit concept for such a console in that the console, together with the control sticks carried by it, for controlling the longitudinal and/or lateral movement of the vehicle, can optionally be brought into the area of the driver""s seat or into the area of the front passenger""s seat of the automobile.
In the case of a further development of the invention additional control functions and/or function elements are integrated into the control elements and/or the carrier console. In this arrangement, the control elements for controlling the longitudinal and/or lateral movement or the console carrying them have the purpose of receiving additional control functions and/or function elements, for example, also in the form of display elements.
According to a further development of the invention, at least one of the control elements, while maintaining its longitudinal speed and/or steering angle control function, can be removed from its vehicle-interior-side operating position and can be operated outside the motor vehicle. With this arrangement, at least one of the control elements for controlling the longitudinal and/or the lateral movement can be removed from the vehicle while maintaining its movement control function. This permits the controlling of the vehicle from the outside, for example, for the purpose of parking.
According to a further development of the invention the operating contact surfaces of the control elements can be heated and/or cooled and/or ventilated. This increases the using comfort in that the operating contact surfaces of the control elements for the longitudinal and/or lateral movement control of the vehicle are designed to be heatable and/or coolable and/or ventilatable so that the user always has a pleasant grip feeling when reaching around the control elements.
In a further development of the invention, the control elements are operationally coupled with one another, but can still be operated independently of one another; that is, the operating of one control element has an appropriate effect on the other control elements, for example, by a corresponding tracking of their position or by the adjusting of a resistance force against further deflection changes corresponding to that of the operated control element.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.